Lesson 6

Heather P lettwww.heatherplett.com

Lead with your Wild HeartModule 1 - Return to your Wild Heart

Pause & Ref lect

Pause & Ref lectYou’ve been given a lot of content in the last 5 weeks, and now it’s time to pause and reflect on the journey you’ve been on. Sit with the learning, and let it digest, like you would after a good meal.

Be intentional this week about finding some quiet time to journal and just listen to what your wild heart wants to tell you. Are you hearing things you haven’t taken time to hear before? Are you getting closer to your own unique truth? Are you feeling a stirring of possibility?

Perhaps you’re a little afraid to be too honest about what your heart desires. Maybe this stirring in your heart is also bringing up some old baggage that you’d rather not deal with right now. Sit with that awareness too and ask yourself what the fear and resistance is trying to communicate to you.

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Here’s a re-cap of what we’ve covered so far:

In Lesson #1 we talked about the invitation back to our wild hearts. We considered how our wild hearts had been tamed and how they really want to be free again. We opened ourselves up to the possibility that our wild hearts - though they seem dangerous and somewhat unpredictable - are the most authentic essence of who we are. This is a journey we’re on and we don’t have to take it all at once. In the beginning, we simply accept the invitation and then trust that our hearts will not lead us astray.

In the creative process for lesson #1, you were encouraged to find or make a token to represent your wild-hearted journey. Have you done that already? If not, consider how you might do that now to reflect your commitment. Perhaps something has shown up in your life as a gift simply because you opened yourself to this journey.

In Lesson #2 we talked about the stories from our past that have contributed to the taming of our wild hearts. We considered how we’d been silenced when we were told we weren’t “good enough”, “smart enough”, “male enough”, etc. Then, when we’d dug into those old stories and old hurts, we discovered that the only way to move past them was to forgive the people who’d silenced or tamed us and forgive ourselves for allowing the fear of rejection to keep us quiet.

Included in lesson #2 was a beautiful piece by Chris Zydel about what a woman needs to heal. Women need art supplies, forgiveness, their own

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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

voices, their communities, their power, a connection to spirit, and their own wild power.

In the creative process for lesson #2, you were encouraged to do things that connect you to the wild - wandering in the woods, climbing trees, digging in the soil, taking pictures, etc. Have you done these things? How have they made you feel? Was it easy or hard to find time to do these things?

In Lesson #3, we accepted the invitation to play. We considered how play helps us work through our woundedness and grief. Play is transformative. It brings us closer to our wild hearts. It invites us to see the world through fresh lenses. It helps us reframe our lives and it opens new pathways on which we can explore our futures. It can be the vehicle through which we hear the voice of the Divine.

In one of the interviews, we were introduced to Thomas Arthur and the Elementals. One of our creative practices that week was to write a dialogue between ourselves and one of the Elementals. In the other interview, we were introduced to Jodi Crane, a play therapist, and she told us about how she created a “What feeds my soul” list. This was the other exercise in the Creative process. If you followed up on those exercises, revisit them now. What messages did the Elemental have for you? What surprises showed up in your soul-list? How might those things help you set intentions for the coming year?

“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like fal ling leaves and know it is enough to be taken care of by myself.” - Brian Andreas

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In Lesson #4, we considered the difficult word, surrender. Many of us have resistance to that word, as it either brings up baggage from our childhood religions, or it sounds too much like a military term in which we are admitting defeat and giving our power to the enemy. In this lesson, we were invited to consider what it might mean to surrender to our wild hearts and our Higher Power rather than to an enemy or a judgmental God. We considered that perhaps we were surrendering to a life of delight rather than a life of drudgery. We used the analogy of the caterpillar, surrendering to the messiness of the chrysalis in order to become a beautiful butterfly.

The creative process for Lesson #4 was a “lack-of-vision board”. We were invited to play with images and paint and sit in inquiry with what our wild hearts wanted to reveal to us. By giving up our need for a clear vision of the future, we surrendered and followed the journey of our wild hearts.

“Take the path that runs along the cliff--that one, the one without any guardrails. Take that path, and know the exhilaration of the ride and the pride you feel when you reach the end wil l inspire you to take that path again and again. And that experience ... every day, wil l make you more

fulf il led, more complete, and more alive.” — Harry Beckwith

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In Lesson #5, we were invited to consider what spirituality is and how we might define it in a way that resonates with our wild hearts. We contemplated the paradox that spirituality is both a quest for something outside ourselves, and it is a quest for the best that is within us. We considered God as a mountain, and our spiritual quest as a path up that mountain. Each of us must take our own path and each of us sees the mountain differently, but that doesn’t change the mountain.

In this lesson, we were invited to consider what spiritual practice might support us in our spiritual journey. Our spiritual practices help us invite “kairos moments”, or moments in which the Divine can be more fully present for us. In the two interviews for this lesson, Lisa Wilson and Rachelle Mee-Chapman provided tips for discovering your own spiritual practice. Did you try any new spiritual practices or did you re-commit to one that has resonated for you in the past?

For some of us, this journey feels like we’re releasing a pressure valve that’s been closed for too long. For others, it may feel too difficult and we’d rather stick with what’s easy right now. Each of you will have your own experience with this and I encourage you to be true to your own experience. Sit with whatever comes up. Ask the resistance “what are you here for?” Ask the excitement “what are you trying to tell me?”

“Rest is not id leness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds f loat

across the sky, is hard ly a waste of time.” -Sir John Lubbock

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In all of this, it is important to commit yourself to self-care. This is not optional - it’s critical if you want to be true to your wild heart. You can’t rush this and you can’t do it at all if you burn yourself out. Find time this week for whatever nourishes you. Go for a walk, get a massage, take hot baths, read juicy books, light candles, so “no” to an outing that you know will tire you out... Do whatever feels right for you. This is not selfish time, it’s integration and replenishing time. It’s time for all of your courage, your resilience, your strength, and your energy to be rebuilt. Don’t cheat yourself out of it.

Note: One of the many ways we loose our way along our wild-hearted journeys is by becoming disconnected from what’s going on in our bodies. I encourage you to watch this week’s interview with Christine Claire Reed - my go-to person for all things related to the body - for ideas about how to bring our bodies back into our spiritual practices.

“By surviving passages of doubt and depression on the vocational journey, I have become clear about at least one thing: self-care is never a self ish act - it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on

earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves but for the many others whose

lives we touch.” -Parker Palmer7

May today there be peace within.May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the inf inite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and al low your soul the freedom to sing,

dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come.

We have only today. Let us begin.- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Heather P lettwww.heatherplett.com

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Reflection mandalaTo help you reflect on your learnings from the past 5 lessons, do some mandala journalling this week.

Start with a large circle on a square piece of paper. At the centre of the circle, draw a heart and in it write “My wild heart”. Divide the space outside of the heart into 5 equal pie pieces.

In each of the pie pieces, write a key word for each lesson: invitation, healing, play, surrender, spirit (or pick your own words that reflect what you learned)

In each pie piece, add any thoughts that come to mind that reflect the learnings from that session. If you did any journaling during that week, you may want to go back and see what jumps out at you.

In addition to the words, you can add images (cut from magazines, or hand drawn) that reflect your learning and/or your commitments in each area. Feel free to add colour and design as well.

Creative Process

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Journal Prompts

1. The journey to my wild heart feels like...

2. I have given myself time for...

3. I wish I had given myself more time for...

4. I am resistant to...

5. I want to...

6. I am committed to...

I suggest that wisdom is precisely the freedom to be truly present to what is right in front of you. Presence is wisdom! People who are ful ly present know

how to see ful ly, rightly, and truthful ly. - Richard Rohr

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Having dealt with years of rather debilitating depression, Christine Claire Reed’s journey in recent years has taken her to a place of healing and wild-hearted wholeness through dance. After immersing herself in various forms of yoga dance, healing dance, and elder dance, she took a courageous step and opened the Girl on Fire Dance Studio a year ago. She now teaches women to get back into their bodies to find healing and hope.

Quotes from Christine:“When you ask the right questions, the doors start to open.”

“I don’t think we learn or grow from comfortable things. We need to be poked and prodded or else we get lazy.”

“Being present in our bodies takes a lot of courage, and then when you do it, it builds the courage muscle.

“For spiritual and emotional strength, start by building physical strength.”

Video link: https://vimeo.com/56712244 Password: mywildheart

Featured InterviewA Conversation with

Christine Claire Reed

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